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Rutendo Gwatidzo-Changing Perspectives
‘Mum, we need new talent. Ma’am, replace the ones you gave us. Ma’am, we are not happy with the current team…”
When we started offering recruitment and selection services at The Hub HR Consultancy, the first six months were just but a pain. We almost quit giving such services because every now and then some of our clients would constantly complain about the talent we would have acquired for them.
We almost thought that we were bad at recruiting until we came across discoveries that transformed our approach and thinking.
Four of the employees who had been dismissed somewhere within probation period due to incompetence were surprisingly reported among the best performers at their new organisations.
In an attempt to get to the bottom of the subject matter, I realised that talent development requires intentional structured talent development steps.
The greatest asset of any organisation is not the people it hopes to hire tomorrow, but the people who walked through its doors this morning.”
Whenever an organisation faces declining performance or losing key employees, one of the first conversations often revolves around recruitment.
Management begins searching for fresh talent, hoping that new people will bring fresh ideas, renewed energy and better results.
Recruitment is undoubtedly important, new skills and perspectives are required from time to time. However, one question is often overlooked before a vacancy is advertised:
Have we fully developed the people we already have?
Many organisations spend thousands of dollars attracting new employees while investing little in those who have remained loyal, especially through difficult seasons.
Ironically, the solution many organisations are searching for outside may already be sitting quietly inside the office.
The Receptionist who became a Branch Manager
A growing company wanted to recruit a branch manager after opening a new office.
Management advertised externally, shortlisted experienced candidates and prepared for interviews. During one meeting, I asked a simple question: “Has anyone considered Tariro?”
Tariro had worked as the company’s receptionist for six years. She knew the business inside out.
She understood the customers, had earned the respect of colleagues and had repeatedly volunteered to assist different departments whenever additional support was needed.
She had also completed several professional courses in her own time without asking the company for financial assistance.
The directors admitted they had never viewed her beyond the reception desk.
Instead of recruiting externally, they gave her an opportunity, paired her with a mentor and invested in leadership development.
Within a year, she had transformed the branch into one of the company’s best-performing operations yet, the organisation had been searching outside. Sometimes potential is not absent. It is simply unnoticed.
The football coach who changed his strategy
One of our clients owns a football club and the club had endured three disappointing seasons.
Supporters demanded expensive signings, convinced that only new players could rescue the team.
At the last warning and final attempt, the coach saw things differently. Instead of spending money the club did not have, he invested time in developing the academy players who had been overlooked.
He paired experienced players with younger ones, introduced individual coaching sessions and gave promising talent, opportunities to play.
By the end of the following season, three academy graduates had become key players.
One was later transferred to a bigger club for a significant fee, generating income that allowed the club to strengthen other areas.
The coach understood something many leaders forget, especially under pressure. Talent is not always found, sometimes it is developed.
The employee everyone ignored
At another organisation, there was an accounts assistant who rarely spoke during meetings. Because she was naturally quiet, many assumed she had little to contribute.
One day, the finance manager was away when a major systems problem disrupted payroll processing.
While everyone debated what to do, the accounts assistant calmly suggested an alternative process she had learned during an online course.
Her solution worked. Only then did management discover that she had spent two years studying data analytics and financial systems at her own expense.
She had never mentioned it because no one had ever asked about her career aspirations. Many organisations are surrounded by hidden potential that remains undiscovered simply because leaders never take the time to know their people?
Development is not an expense
Many organisations hesitate to invest in employee development because they fear that trained employees may eventually leave.
While that remains a probability, have you also considered what happens if you don’t develop them and they stay?
An untrained workforce costs in so many different ways far more than a training budget.
Organisations that invest in learning create confident employees who solve problems instead of waiting for instructions.
They build resilience because knowledge remains within the organisation long after external consultants have gone.
Leaders must learn to see potential
One of the greatest responsibilities of leadership is not merely managing performance but discovering potential.
Great leaders look beyond current job titles. They notice curiosity, initiative, integrity and the willingness to learn. They provide coaching, mentoring, stretch assignments and opportunities that help people grow into roles they may never have imagined for themselves.
The competitive advantage that cannot be copied
Technology can be purchased, buildings can be constructed and equipment can be replaced. But, an organisation that consistently develops its people creates a competitive advantage that competitors struggle to imitate. Employees who feel valued become ambassadors for the organisation. They innovate more confidently, collaborate more willingly and remain committed because they know someone believes in their potential.
Food for thought!
Before advertising your next vacancy, pause for a moment and look around your organisation. Who has been quietly exceeding expectations? Who has shown initiative without being asked? Who has remained loyal through difficult seasons? Who has untapped potential waiting for someone to believe in them? The answers to those questions may surprise you.
Recruit when you must, but never overlook the extraordinary talent already sitting internally. Today’s receptionist may become tomorrow’s managing director. Today’s graduate trainee may become tomorrow’s innovator. Today’s quiet employee may hold the solution to tomorrow’s biggest challenge.
Footnote
Rutendo Gwatidzo is a Human Capital Executive as Managing Consultant at The HUB HR Consultancy. She is a Multi-Award Winning Leader, Transformational Speaker and Coach. She is also an Author of Born to Fight and Breaking the Silence books. Contact detail – 0714575805/ [email protected] / Rutendo Gwatidzo_Official fb public page.
